Ferris: fisherman and fascist
Nice to see MyCandidate.ie up and running. For political junkies, the profiles of Thursday's election candidates make for a quick, if lacklustre, fix. But the thinness of the gruel is mainly because Ireland's politicians are a conniving, cagey lot and they'd rather have their teeth pulled without an anaesthetic than divulge information about themselves to one of them website yokes. With a bit more funding, perhaps, MyCandidate.ie could be an interesting resource. Next time, perhaps.
Just happened to look at the Kerry North constituency and found a candidate there whose "Other/Previous Occupation" is given as "Former fisherman". This is hilarious as Sinn Fein's Martin Ferris has a maritime past that involves rifles, bullets and explosives more that herring, trout or salmon. It was Ferris who was arrested in 1984 off the Kerry coast on board the Marita Ann, which was carrying a seven ton shipment of guns, grenades and ammunition organized by a drug-smuggling Boston gang-boss and which was destined to bring death, destruction, grief, suffering, trauma and horror to the people of Ireland.
Ferris did ten years for this crime, but despite his avowed intention to slaughter men, women and children, he was elected to Dáil Éireann in the 2002 general election, with 9,496 votes. Given Sinn Féin's penchant for morbid humour, Ferris, the "Former fisherman" is now the party's spokesperson on Marine & Natural Resources. As the Volokh Conspiracy points out, it was Tom Wolfe who wrote that the "dark night of fascism is always descending in the United States and yet lands only in Europe". How appropriate, but appalling, that it now has a foothold in the next parish to America.
Comments
Well, as an American I am ashamed of the chowderheads here in the States who aided and abetted the IRA for many years and acted like characters like Ferris were the modern day equivalents of Wolfe Tone and Robert Emmett. I should point out, though that I have known people who honestly believed that the cash deposited in those Noraid cans passed around in Irish-American bars in the '70's and '80's actually went to help widows and orphans. I think some good-hearted naifs would have refrained had they known their money would end up in the hands of Col. Gaddafi or any of the other scum the IRA used to cut deals with.
Irish politics are a bit baffling to an outsider, because Fine Gael and Fianna Fail don't seem to break down along the usual right/left/Tory/Labour/
Republican/Democratic lines. Admittedly, I haven't studied Irish politics in depth, but I can't really figure out exactly what the differences between the two major parties are, once you get past pro-Treaty and anti-Treaty during the Civil War.
Posted by: Donna | May 23, 2007 3:51 AM
Eamonn
I'm being devils advocate here - I certainly have no love for Sinn Fein’s politics, and although I may have agreed with some of their aims in the North, I abhor violence in all its forms. But, I could never reconcile the fact that if I have had grown up as a poor Catholic kid in N.I; I may have been drawn to the IRA. When it comes to any sectarian violent conflict, no one has legs wide enough to straddle the grey sea that divides black and white.
Here's the thing. We in the south have spent the last 10 years trying to convince Northern Unionists to partner with Sinn Fein in government – and we succeeded! However, we seem horrified at the thought that the, by democratic means the Shinners might be a partner in government in the South. Isn't it time we put the past in all it's variations in the past, and accept that ending any conflict involves huge compromise by all concerned and be happy that instead of the ballot box and the gun we have been successful in advocating the ballot box alone. When we bring those on the margins into the mainstream, they will change us as much as we changed them.
Regardless of how distasteful we find some of these people, we simply have to accept for the greater good that they are now involved in the democratic process, and applaud that. It’s an evolution
Calling Sinn Fein candidates gun totting, arms smuggling, drug running fascists is just that - name calling. Worse than that, for all it’s veracity, it’s just another example of digging up the past to validate ones own political views. If we want to move forward the best way to deal with that is to exercise our right to vote, and not vote for them if we disagree with them.
Eamonn, this is a comment I’d sincerely love to see you reply too. You’re a smart guy, and being Irish you understand the complexities. Sinn Finn are going to be a part of Ireland’s future. It would be more interesting to hear some learned commentary on what that might mean to our future, rather than calling them names and ignoring the fact that they are now a political force to be reckoned with.
Posted by: John Mc | May 24, 2007 12:17 AM
It's nice to see your considered view on a member of our national assembly. Is there no other example in the whole wide world of a democratic politician who was previously into violence? Indeed, if I read you correctly,it may never have happened in any democracy. thank you.
Posted by: zinnia | May 24, 2007 5:16 PM